Foreign press real-time coverage of BTS' Gwanghwamun performance… 'Return of the Century'

The 'BTS Comeback Live: ARIRANG' performance by the full group BTS, returning together for the first time in 3 years and 9 months, is taking place on the 21st around Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. 2026.3.21 ⓒ News1 Photo Joint Reporting Team

(Seoul=News1) Reporter Lee Chang-gyu = The group BTS, which returned after 3 years and 9 months, performed in Gwanghwamun on the 21st, and major international media outlets around the world reported the performance.

The New York Times (NYT) reported in a separate live section as the show began that "the show begins," noting that the first track on the Arirang album, "Body to Body," started playing.

It went on to describe the scene: "As 'Body to Body' began, the crowd let out a tremendous cheer and waved glow sticks that changed color in time with the beat of the opening song, 'Body to Body.'"

After the concert ended, the NYT wrote that "the greatest K-pop group of all time successfully completed their first concert in about four years."

The NYT also assessed the concert: "BTS is famous for intense and flawless synchronized choreography, but in this concert they began with a freer atmosphere, showing a noticeable change."

It also reported, "Concertgoers were very orderly, and most fans holding seat tickets remained in their seats."

CNN said, "The core of BTS's success is continuous and high interaction with their fans," adding, "This performance, with all BTS members on stage together for the first time in years, reaffirmed the deep bond between BTS and their fandom."

Lee Hye-jin, Associate Professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in Los Angeles, said, "(BTS's) comeback is the return of the century."

According to the NYT, Netflix mobilized about 10 km of power cables, more than 20 cameras, and a 50-million-pixel scale screen to livestream the performance. Cinema cameras and drone cameras used in the film 'Avatar' were also employed.

Lee Seong-gyu, Netflix Asia-Pacific Head of Production Director, said, "This is the first time for a performance of this scale."

Hamish Hamilton, the director who staged this performance, also told CNN, "Because this place (Gwanghwamun) is a public space, we could not hold a single band rehearsal on the actual stage until the day before the performance," adding, "This was the first time I had experienced this in my career."

[email protected]

Copyright ⓒ News1. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution, use for AI training prohibited.